One Confession at a Time
by ThatFilmStudent
Summary: Sirius and Remus have been together for two years, living together of five months, and Remus still has yet to tell his parents about their true relationship. Sometimes, Sirius can't help but feel like a secret. Confessions and promises are made. Remus/Sirius, background James/Lily.


**My boyfriend hides me from his parents. We live together & every time his parents come by he hides all of my stuff. – 21.01.17**

Sirius awoke to the delightful (and that was only half sarcastic) sounds of scuffling and banging kitchenware in the next room. He smiled to himself, revelling in the fact that the person in the next room could only be one person: Remus Lupin.

Sometimes Sirius still couldn't believe it. He had actually managed to snag Remus Lupin, the aloof and boundlessly caring werewolf. He had managed to get Remus – a man that had once been very against relationships and was dry-witted, patient, hilarious and gorgeous; and he was all Sirius'. What was even better than that, though, was that Sirius had not only mastered the impossible in getting him, but he had also managed to convince said werewolf to **live** with him. In their own flat.

In fact, he and Remus had been living in their own flat together for the past five months, and Sirius had found those five months to be absolute domestic bliss. Never before had he thought he would be happy to (or actually **want** to) go home. Not until he met Remus Lupin, that is. When he met Remus, his life changed for the better, and now he found himself in a serious relationship and living with someone he loved more than life itself. He and Remus had been living in their own haven and Sirius had never felt so safe and loved before.

When he was younger, he hadn't ever thought he would be able to be happy or settle down. He'd thought that his family had shattered him beyond repair; he was sure that the Black family had ruined him too much for him to be capable of having a normal, functioning relationship. But he had been wrong, and although his relationship with Remus wasn't **normal** per se, it was functioning and it was, in his opinion, perfect.

It was perfect because they were perfect for each other. They understood each other, listened to each other and never, ever lied or kept secrets from one another. Their love was mutual, limitless and seemingly unbreakable. They had already been through things that would be enough to break up any normal couple but it hadn't broken them. They had supported each other and gotten through it all. Together. Their love was infinite and the trust that they had built up with each other was equally as immeasurable; shatterproof and long-lasting.

To Sirius, their relationship was perfect because it didn't matter if they fought, they always came back to each other. Every morning Sirius woke up, it was Remus' face he wanted to see, and at the end of the day, he was always happy to go home and see Remus there. Even after arguments, all he wanted to do was to go home and see Remus. Sirius realised that his first thought was always of Remus, as was his last. He often wondered whether he should tell Remus that particular fact.

A loud clatter from the direction of the kitchen brought Sirius' attention back to the present and he smiled to himself as he listened to the muffled swear words mumbled by Remus that came through the walls. The swearing stopped and Sirius finally opened his eyes to look in the general direction of the door. It was shut and Sirius wondered what Remus was doing.

As he listened, he stretched out and came to the conclusion that those sounds meant one of three things: one, Remus was cooking him breakfast (which was sweet but Remus was a terrible cook compared to him; he appreciated the thought, though); two, Remus was tidying up as he was wont to do; or three, they had visitors – either friends or family (the Lupin's or the Potter's) – coming over and Remus was tidying for that.

Sirius groaned to himself, hoping and praying to any deity listening that they didn't have visitors coming over. He wanted to spend the day with Remus. **Alone**. It was the first day in more than three weeks that **both** of them had a whole day off at the same time and when Sirius had learned of this fact, he had decided to plan it out.

First, they wake up (together, preferably) and have breakfast, then they have sex (possibly in the shower, he hadn't thought that far ahead yet). Then they go out – food shopping or into Town to do some general shopping – and get some food. Then they get back to the flat, have sex, order in some food, have sex again, eat the food and watch some TV, and then have sex a few more times before falling asleep in each other's arms. It was all planned out.

He lay in bed for another moment, listening to the shuffling and bangs of cutlery, before he decided to get up and ask Remus if his plans were about to go up in flames. He tumbled out of bed, pulled on some fresh boxers – though, he tactfully wore only those, making sure to leave his chest and legs bare in hopes of being able to convince Remus to cancel any visitors – and quickly made his way to the bathroom.

He took a power-piss and brushed his teeth, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he did so. He flexed in front of the mirror, admiring himself before he messed his hair up to that just-shagged look that he knew Remus enjoyed, and smiled satisfactorily at his own reflection. He felt ready to seduce his werewolf. With one last confident nod to himself, he left the bathroom and made his way to the kitchen.

On his way to the kitchen, he smelled no burnt bacon or cooking eggs so he assumed option one was out of the window. He still had option two, he thought optimistically. He walked through the living room, noting how inscrutably tidy it was and how different it looked. Most of his items had been tucked away or hidden from sight, he noticed with a frown.

He continued on his journey to kitchen where he found Remus – fully dressed in his jumper with his sleeves rolled up his forearms (most likely from doing the dishes, Sirius thought) and clad in his worn jeans that clung to him in all of the right places – going through the food cupboards, snapping the doors open and shut.

Sirius glanced at the sink to find dishes drying on the drainer and the sink still filled with half-soapy water. He looked back to Remus and leaned against the doorframe, enjoying the view unabashedly.

He had always liked to admire Remus; even in school, before they had gotten together. In all truthfulness, he didn't really care what Remus was doing. It didn't matter if Remus was reading, writing, drawing, cleaning or even just sitting; to Sirius, watching Remus in his natural state was fascinating. It was one of his favourite pastimes. He just loved to watch natural Remus – the unguarded, unconscious movements of the other man.

Remus turned around, then, and saw Sirius standing in the doorway. The werewolf didn't seem shocked to see him, Sirius realised, and he wondered if maybe Remus had known he was there the whole time.

"Padfoot," Remus said. "What are you doing? How long have you been standing there?"

Or maybe not, Sirius thought.

He shrugged and looked at Remus, feeling that all-familiar hard thump in his chest. Sometimes, when he looked at Remus, it felt as though his ribcage was going to burst like in that science fiction film they went to see the other month. He didn't know why but it did. And it hurt. Looking at Remus hurt, but Sirius found that he didn't mind it. Not one bit.

In fact, he realised he rather enjoyed the pain; craved it like a drug. He loved the pain because Remus caused it and he knew that it only meant good things that his heart pounded faster and his chest felt fit to explode whenever he saw the other man.

"Okay," Remus said, looking a little self-conscious as he moved his hands in front of himself. Sirius realised that it was probably because of his continuous staring and lack of words. He was aware it was unnerving but he couldn't help but stare at Remus. "Um… Did you want something?"

Sirius smiled, in what he hoped was a non-threatening way, and shook his head lightly. "What are you doing?" he asked, his vocal chords deciding to join him.

Remus stared at Sirius for a moment, his eyes trailed up and down the other man, before he moved back to his task, searching through and sorting the cupboards. Sirius noticed that Remus seemed more at ease now that he had spoken.

"Mum's coming around," Remus answered.

Sirius closed his eyes and lightly banged his head against the wooden doorframe, inwardly cursing. Option three it was, apparently. He sighed realising that, not only were his plans well and truly obliterated, but also he wouldn't be able to spend the day with Remus at all. If the Lupin's were going around to **their** flat, he wouldn't even be allowed in for fear of them finding out. Suddenly the lack of his belongings on display made sense.

It wasn't that the Lupin's didn't like Sirius. And it definitely wasn't that Sirius didn't like the Lupin's. In fact, he would go so far as to say he loved the Lupin family. Hope had always treated him kindly – being a Muggle and not knowing of his family or how influential they were in the Wizarding world – and Lyall, despite knowing his family, had always treated him like Remus' other friends: with respect.

He just couldn't be in the flat because, when they had moved in to the new flat together five months earlier, Remus hadn't told his parents that Sirius would be living there as well. Or that they would be sleeping in the same bed.

In short, Remus had yet to tell his parents of their relationship. Or even his sexual preferences which, admittedly, Sirius wasn't even sure of.

While Sirius was gay and proud, Remus had expressed his continued interest in females as well as the male sector. Luckily for Sirius, he didn't have to be worried about Remus not really being interested in men as the werewolf had continuously shown Sirius his interest in the male form. Sirius didn't know what those people were called – the people who enjoyed everything – but he reckoned that was what Remus was. He didn't mind as long as Remus continued to be faithful to him.

"Ah… Right," he replied finally.

"Exactly," Remus murmured as he picked up a tea towel and began drying the dishes before placing them in their section in the cupboard.

Sirius looked around the kitchen. "So, why are you hiding all of my stuff?" he asked, despite knowing exactly why Remus was hiding any traces of him.

Remus momentarily paused in his dish drying. "Because they don't know we're together?" he said, eyes still on the plate he was drying. "I think my mum'll find it suspicious that I'm living in a one bedroom apartment with my very male mate. Don't you?"

Sirius shrugged, not for the first time feeling like a shameful secret. He straightened up and ventured into the kitchen, walking closer to Remus as he spoke. "Moony, I've been thinking about that," he said carefully.

Remus sighed and put the plate down on the kitchen counter. "Pads, please. Lets not have that discussion again."

Sirius continued and put his arms on either side of Remus, effectively boxing the werewolf in so he couldn't escape the conversation again. "Sorry, Moony. But we need to."

Remus shook his head, his eyes still downcast. "No we don't," he said, half-heartedly trying to get out of Sirius' loose cage.

"Look," Sirius began. "I understand. I do, honestly." He paused and looked at his partner of over two years. "Remus, look at me." Remus, upon hearing his name, did; Sirius' slate grey eyes caught Remus' hazel-amber and held them. "I understand," he repeated. "I understand that you're worried about what they'll think. You're close, I know that."

He paused for a second, deliberating his next sentence. "But at the same time, I don't understand. I don't understand why you can't tell them. They love you; they want you to be happy." In a moment of not-so-uncharacteristic insecurity, Sirius asked, "You are, aren't you?"

"Yes," Remus answered immediately. "Of course I am."

Sirius nodded, believing Remus. "Good. But, then, I don't know why you won't tell them. I mean, everyone else knows. Everyone accepts it and support us. Even the Potter's know, and they aren't my biological family. Everyone knows except for your mum and dad. They'd be fine with it, and you know they would. So, I don't know why you won't tell them."

Remus stared at him for a long moment, worrying his lip. "I just can't. Not yet…" he replied regretfully.

Sirius huffed and stepped back, freeing Remus but the werewolf didn't move. He moved his hand up and pushed it through his hair exasperatedly. Two years they'd been together. Two years they'd had this same conversation. Two years that had been Remus' excuse. Sirius' patience was beginning to wear thin.

"Remus," Sirius began, feeling more than a little agitated. "Do you know how humiliating it is to say that my boyfriend hides me from his parents? To say that we live together and every time his parents come by he hides all of my stuff. Do you know how…demeaning that is? It makes me feel like I'm your shameful secret or something."

In one quick movement, Remus stepped away from the counter and cupped Sirius' face in his hands, forcing Sirius to look at him. Remus' hands were a little damp from handling the wet dishes but Sirius didn't mind as they stared at each other. They stared for a moment and Sirius felt his agitation drain from him as Remus' thumb soothed over his jaw and bottom lip.

"I will tell them," Remus said with a sort of conviction that gave Sirius hope. "I promise, I will. You're not my secret." He closed his eyes for a moment, collecting himself, before he opened them and looked straight into Sirius' eyes. The intensity almost took Sirius' breath away. "I love you. And I **will** tell them. It's just… Right now, they won't understand. I just need to ease them into it. I need to tell them I'm…whatever I am, before I tell them I've shacked up with you. Can—can you wait until I tell them that first?"

Sirius swallowed and nodded. "I love you, too," he replied quietly. "I'm sorry. Of course I can wait. I don't want to rush you."

Remus snorted. "Rush me?" he asked, smiling his amusement. "Sirius, you've been more patient than I would have ever thought you could be. I'm the one that should be sorry. I know this can't be easy for you – me hiding you all of the time. I know you had plans for today, and I'm sorry I've fucked them up. I promise, I'll make it up to you. Tonight. They should be gone by five. So, how about we spend the evening together?" he finished, a suggestive glint in his eye as well as his voice.

Sirius smirked. "Alright. Five. And not a minute later," he warned.

Remus smiled back. "Of course not," he said mock-solemnly. He gave Sirius a quick, almost-but-not-quite chaste kiss before he pulled back and let go of Sirius. "Go put some clothes on. They'll be here soon. And I think that they'll definitely suspect something if they find you half-naked in my kitchen."

"Our kitchen," Sirius muttered, earning a small chuckle of agreement from Remus. He nodded and made his way to the kitchen doorway where he paused. "I'll be out of your hair soon," he assured. "Love you," he mumbled before leaving to get dressed.

* * *

Sirius yawned and knocked on the door again before the redheaded beauty that was Lily Evans-Potter threw the door open. They stared at each other for a moment of silence as they studied each other, Sirius noting the pregnant woman was dressed in her 'mummy-clothes' and an apron. He reckoned she was probably cooking, judging by the apron and bits of white on her forehead and nose.

"Sirius!" she chirped ecstatically as if she only just realised it was him; Sirius wondered if maybe she had just remembered him. He'd heard Mrs. Potter talking about 'baby-brain' and forgetfulness.

He barely had a moment to react before the redhead threw herself at him and held him in a long, and surprisingly strong, hug. He hugged back briefly before she pulled back, a huge grin on her face.

"What are you doing here?" she asked before she grabbed his hand and led him into the house, letting the door swing shut behind them. "James! Sirius is here!" she called through the house.

They entered the kitchen and as soon as they did, Sirius noticed the mess. It was hard to miss it, truth be told. He briefly wondered if a bakery-hurricane had blown through with the amount of flour that covered the kitchen surfaces.

The kitchen counters were coated in dough, flour and other cooking materials; the sink was plugged up; the floor was like standing in a light layer of sand; the air smelled of sweetness and it was warm, and the small table that the married couple used during dinner parties was stacked high with cupcakes, cookies and other baked goods. And right in the centre of the mess, with his own apron and pair of cooking mittens, was James Potter.

"Padfoot?" James asked, standing up with a baking tray of non-cooked treats and tilting his head to look through his glasses that had become askew when he stood up. Lily, the loving wife she was, corrected his glasses and took the tray off of him, placing it in the oven. She offered Sirius a cookie, which he took politely. "What are you doing here?" he asked curiously.

Sirius shrugged and looked for a non-food-covered surface to sit on. He found none. "Remus' parents are visiting," he explained, earning a collective _'Ah'_ from the couple who were so in sync.

"So, you've been kicked out," Lily said, a supportive smile on her face as she offered a cupcake which Sirius took.

"Not kicked out **exactly** ," he replied after he swallowed his cookie. "More like relocated," he adjusted before taking a bit of the delicious cupcake.

"That's tough luck, mate," James said, moving over to stand with them. "I know you had plans."

Sirius shrugged. "Well, not really. But I did want to spend the day with him."

Lily rubbed his back consolingly as she bit into her own cupcake. James took a cupcake and took a bite too before asking, "He still hasn't told them?"

Sirius shook his head. "Nope," he said.

"He really ought to," Lily replied. "Your two year anniversary is due, right?"

Sirius nodded. "Yep. Next week."

"Why hasn't he told them?"

"I think he's just worried," he replied thoughtfully. "You know, about disappointing them."

Lily pulled out the table, revealing two clean chairs, and sat down on one of them. Sirius quickly took the other. "Why would he disappoint them?" she asked.

"Well, if he's with me, he can't have kids, can he? That means the end of the Lupin bloodline, doesn't it?"

"Whoa, wait," James said, sitting down opposite Sirius on one of the dirty chairs. "Are you sure you're not projecting?"

Sirius frowned. "What d'you mean?"

"I see what you're saying," Lily murmured, clearly catching James' train of thought. "He's asking if you're sure that those aren't **your** worries for him?" Sirius frowned, still confused. "You've always worried that Remus would end things because he wanted a family, haven't you?"

Sirius shrugged and picked at the cupcake. "They're not stupid worries," he mumbled, receiving another soothing rub on the back from Lily. "He'd make a great dad – I know he would – and I can't give him that. And his mum has always wanted grandkids." He looked up at them. "Prongs, you remember in fifth year when she embarrassed the fuck out of him by telling us to set him up with a 'pretty girl' so that he could give her grandkids."

"Yeah," James replied. "But I don't think that's the reason he's scared of telling them."

"Well, it's **a** reason."

"Sirius, you know that you **could** have kids with him," Lily said, making James and Sirius frown at her. She rolled her eyes affectionately. "They have this thing now. IVA or IVF or something. It helps couples like you and Remus or Marlene and Dorcas have kids. If you wanted, you could have a family with him. Or there's adoption. You could still give Mrs. Lupin grandkids."

Sirius smiled and nodded imperceptibly, realising that they had options, should Remus ever want to have a family with him one day. Sirius himself knew that, if he were to consider children, Remus would be the person he'd want a family with.

"Maybe," he muttered. "Look, I don't know why he hasn't told him. He said he's easing them into it. I reckon he'll tell them soon. A few more months," he said, feeling a bit more confident.

"I'm sure he will," Lily smiled.

"So, how long are you here for?" James asked, earning a whack on the arm from Lily. "Ow," he hissed as he rubbed his arm. "What was that for?"

"It's rude to ask someone that," she said.

"It's okay," Sirius laughed, earning himself a half-kick under the table from James. "I'm here until about five unless you want me out sooner."

"No, that's perfect," Lily chirped, standing up. "You can help us cook. My mum's having a bake sale at the local primary school where she lives. She asked for me to cook some food up and, since I am in the midst of some serious cooking-craving, it was perfect. There's a batch of treats in it for you if you say yes," she finished enticingly.

Sirius smirked. "Alright," he said, excited for his free cookies. "Where's my apron?"

* * *

Sirius tucked the tub full of goodies under his arm and knocked on the door, mindful that the Lupin's might still be there. He knew that if he entered the home without knocking, Remus would probably get paranoid that they'd figure it out. He waited for a second, listening to the door, before he knocked again. The door swung open the next moment and Sirius found himself face-to-face with Remus. The werewolf stood there, looking apprehensive but proud.

"Why are you knocking?" he asked.

"Uh…" Sirius shrugged. "In case your mum was still here?"

"They're not here anymore," he informed before he dragged Sirius in. "I have some news."

He led the way to the living room where Sirius noticed that his stuff had been put on display again – the most noticeable items being his random people in photo frames. He liked to collect frames with pictures and photos already inside them. More often than not personal photographs didn't get put in the frames.

Remus took the tub and placed it on the coffee table before he pushed Sirius down on the couch. Sirius looked up at Remus who stayed standing.

"I told them."

Sirius' eyebrows rose into his hairline before he frowned, unsure if he was letting his hopes run away with him. "Sorry?" he asked instead.

"I…" Remus moved to sit next to him. "You got into my head. I don't want you to feel like I'm ashamed of you or anything. Because I'm not. You're…" He paused and bit his lip, studying Sirius and clearly deciding whether or not to continue his thought. Sirius waited patiently. "You're the most important thing in my life, Sirius. I don't want you to ever feel like I'm ashamed of you. So, your words…well, they just sort of…niggled at me. And, I just sort of…blurted it out."

Sirius grinned, proud of his partner. "How'd they take it?" he asked, genuinely interested.

"Fine, I think," Remus replied. "My mum was a bit shocked but my dad didn't seem fazed. I think he already knew."

"So, they took it well?" Sirius asked.

"Yes," he replied. "And don't say 'I told you so' unless you want to be doing the dishes tonight."

Sirius grinned but decided doing the dishes was not worth an 'I told you so'; he really hated doing the dishes. "So… I'm guessing you didn't tell them about me, right?"

Remus' smile faltered slightly as he shook his head. "No. Sorry. Not yet. I think one confession at a time. If I'd told them about you, I think my mum would've asked you to dinner and dad would have wanted to give you a 'talk'."

Sirius nodded. "Fair enough. I don't mind that you didn't tell them, Moony. This is an achievement in itself." He grinned happily and moved forward on the couch, wrapping his arms around Remus before he kissed the werewolf lightly. "I'm proud of you. One confession at a time, eh?"

Remus nodded. "Soon, you won't have to say that your boyfriend hides you from his parents. I'll tell them. But, after I've prepared you. They're a bit…full on."

Sirius snorted. "I can handle a Lupin," he retorted before he remembered Mr. Lupin and his scary height; the man was almost as tall as Remus. "But your dad kind of scares me so I don't mind waiting for that particular talk."

Remus laughed and kissed him. "Okay. One confession at a time."

Sirius nodded. "One confession at a time."

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own these characters.**

 **NOTE: This is posted in 'A PostSecret Collection', too.  
Th** **ank you for reading! =) Hope you enjoyed it!**


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